 WHAT IS ECPAT?ECPAT New Zealand (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, Child Sex Tourism and Trafficking in Children for sexual purposes) is the only organisation in New Zealand whose sole focus is to address the issue of the commercial sexual exploitation of children. ECPAT New Zealand is part of an international network of ECPAT groups in over 40 countries. WHAT IS CHILD SEX TOURISM?Child Sex Tourism is the commercial sexual exploitation of children by foreigners, who travel from their own country to another, usually less developed, country to engage in sexual acts with children while overseas. Child sex tourists include paedophiles, business people and travellers. They come from all walks of life: they may be married or single, male or female, wealthy tourists or budget travellers. They may be paedophiles travelling specifically to exploit children or travellers who do not plan their trip with the intention of abusing a child. They often justify their behaviour by claiming that it is culturally acceptable in that country or that they are helping the child by providing some money. Tourism is not the cause of child sexual exploitation; however, exploiters make use of the facilities offered by the tourism industry (hotels, bars, nightclubs, etc.). New Zealand law prohibits sex tourism, which means that citizens who commit child sex offences overseas can be prosecuted.
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